One-piece extruded container for canning



Sept. 13, 1966 1. M. HARVEY 3,

ONE-PIECE EXTRUDED CONTAINER FOR CANNING Original Filed July 22, 1963FIG. I.

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LE0 N. f/ARl/EY A eewr United States Patent 0 3,272,383 ONE-PlEtIEEXTRUDED CONTAINER FOR CANNING Leo M. Harvey, Los Angeles, Calif,assignor to Harvey Aluminum (Incorporated), Torrance, Calif, acorporation of Caiifornia Continuation of application er. No. 296,630,July 22, 1963. This application July 8, 1965, Ser. No. 473,896 1 Claim.(Cl. 220-6d) This is a continuation of application Serial No. 296,- 630,filed July 22, 1963, entitled, One-Piece Extruded Container for Canning.

This invention relates to containers of the type used for merchandisingfoods and beverages, and the like, and is particularly concerned withthe fabrication of containers primarily by means of extruding a singlepiece of relatively inexpensive lightweight metal into a monoshell formready for the reception of contents and adapted to receive a closure.

The art relating to containers of the type under consideration is highlydeveloped and mechanized for the production of specialized containersand also for the canning operations wherein the containers receive thecontents to be merchandised. As a practical matter, and in fact, themanufacture of the containers is a business separate from the filling ofthe containers, the latter being referred to as the canning operation.Furthermore, the said two operations are extreme in their mechanization,with special machinery which is highly developed for the production ofspecial containers and for the handling of the various products to bemerchandised. For example, the merchandising of beverages involvescertain highly developed machines that receive empty containers, fillthem with the beverage, close them with a lid, and discharge and conveythem for distribution and sale.

With the highly developed and efficient canning ma chinery as it is nowavailable in the art, the long used and well known tin can is handledand which involves a tubular shell with a longitudinal seam and withtransverse ends joined to the shell by a doubled seam that forms a rimor chine. Although the cross-sectional configuration of a container canvary widely, it is usual that the tubular shell is smooth and ordinarilyround. Therefore, it is the doubled seam that presents the onlygeometric part which can be relied upon for reinforcement of and/orengagement of and/or handling of said container.

There are many considerations to be met in the manufacture of containersof the type under consideration. Not only must such a container berecognizable as such but it must also be acceptable in every respect.The presence of a bottom rim as previously formed by a double seam ofjoinder is necessary during the filling of the container; is necessaryto engage and hold the container during application of a lid; isnecessary to prevent lifting of the container when the lid applyingmeans is retracted; is necessary to engage the container with conveyingmeans and thereby prevent tipping and/or dislodgement; is necessary toprevent tilting when packaged, in which case the top and bottom rims ofthe container should be of substantially the same diameter; and isnecessary to ensure uniform spacing of adjacent containers wherebydefacing of the labels is avoided by preventing touching of adjacentcontainer bodies. Another consideration is the capability of thecontainers to withstand internal pressures, not only constant pressuresafter closare but those extraordinary pressures which are invariablyimposed during handling in the canning equipment.

A general object of this invention is to provide an improved andcommercially practical container of the "ice type under consideration,which is durable and acceptable in every respect and which can replacecontainers of the prior art. Furthermore, it is an object of thisinvention to provide such a container that is one-piece and yet capableof replacing prior art containers made in several pieces.

Another object of this invention is to provide a onepiece container thatwill not tilt, one relative to the other, by virtue of adjacentinterengagement of one of said containers with another due to theestablishment of uniform rim diameters at or close to the bottom and topof the containers. A container without a protruding bottom seam or rimand with the necessary seam that secures the lid thereon would be looseat the bottom end, so as to permit shifting and tilting. The presentinvention avoids this in a one-piece container. A

It is still another object of this invention to provide a one-piececontainer that will roll straight for conveying purposes, by virtue ofuniform rim diameters at both ends of the container. A container withouta bottom seam or rim and with the necessary seam that secures the lidthereon would roll along a curved route and not straight. The presentinvention ensures rolling of the container in a straight line.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a one piececontainer with means to prevent touching of the body sections thereof,whereby labels imprinted or carried thereon are not defaced or damagedby contact of adjacent containers. A container without a seam or rim atthe bottom end as well as the top end will rub and chafe, one againstthe other, and thereby deface the labeling.

An object is to provide a leak-proof container that is formed withoutseams or joints and such a container that is competitively inexpensiveof manufacture.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a container of thecharacter referred to which is lightweight and yet strong and so as toWithstand internal pressures without resort to encumbering the same.

The various objects and features of this invention will be fullyunderstood from the following detailed description of the typicalpreferred form and application thereof, throughout which descriptionreference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 through 4 illustrate the article of manufacture, FIG. 1 being aperspective view showing a fragmentary portion of typical canningmachinery that may be involved and with the one-piece containers of thepresent invention in place thereon and engaged therewith, FIG. 2 beingan enlarged elevation showing the container of the present invention insection, FIG. 3 being an enlarged detailed sectional view showing theconventional double seam which occurs at and in order to fasten theclosure to the container, and FIG. 4 being an enlarged detail sectionalview taken at the lower end portion of the container shown in FIG. 2.

The one-piece container of the present invention is worked from a singlepiece of material as distinguished from the prior art containers thatare fabricated of multi-pie-ces. Tubular shellJike articles can be madein various ways and in order to form a one-piece seamless article theprocess of extrusion is employed in carrying out this invention.However, impact extrusion of a satisfactory container having all of thenecessary features is not readily accomplished and heretofore theforming of such a container in which the bottom and sides are of oneintegral piece of metal and devoid of the protecting rim or chine hasbeen considered inferior to the multi-piece conventional can, becausesuch an extruded container does not meet all of the necessaryrequirements as hereinabove set forth. Many attempts have been made withthe purpose of fabricating a suitable lightweight container meeting thesaid requirements of the present invention, however all previous effortshave resulted either, in an extruded aluminum cup devoid of theprotecting chine, or in an extruded aluminum tube secured ot a separatebottom piece by means of a double seam and thereby returning to amulti-piece container of conventional structure.

In the drawings I have shown a container of ordinary proportion, beingan elongate can of cylindrical cross section and having disc-shaped topand bottom ends. Although the usual can is encumbered with alongitudinal joint or seam, the instant container is not so encumbered,being fabricated of one piece or a single integral body of materialwhich also forms one of the heads, preferably the bottommost head.However, the said container hereinafter disclosed nevertheless has allof the necessary features to be found in the rather heavy seamed canswith separate bottom ends joined to the body of the can by a doubleseam. As it is illustrated, the instant one-piece container involves,generally a single mono-shell S with a body B and an end C joined tosaid body at a bead or chine A.

It is significant that the single mono-shell S is an article fabricatedof one piece of material, preferably of aluminum that can be readilyimpact extruded, and that the elements thereof including the body B, endC and chine A are integrally formed and established of one body ofmaterial. For instance, the process of either forward or backwardextrusion can be practiced to this end, preferably the latter, in whichcase a blank of metal such as aluminum or the like having the properselected volume for the intended container is inserted into a. set of orsets of dies, whereupon said dies are moved relative to each other inorder to extrude a portion of the said blank and thereafter press thesame into the desired configuration.

In FIG. 1 f the drawings I have shown, for one example, a fragment of apiece of canning machinery E, namely a part of the carrier or conveyerthat supports and transports the containers that are received thereby,filled, closed and then discharged and conveyed elsewhere. The conveyer10 is in itself a moving element commonly in the form of a turntable andwith a continuous series of container receiving stations 11. The saidstations 11 are located at the periphery of the conveyer 10 and faceradially outward in order to receive containers delivered to theconveyer tangentially. Further, each of said stations 11 ischaracterized by means 12 to engage the head or chine of the container,at the bottom end thereof, whereby said containers are captured in placeon the conveyer 10. Typically, said means 12 is a semicircular pocketthat comprises an arcuate laterally disposed channel having a bottom 13faced toward the periphery of the conveyer and with a flange 14overlying the surface 15 of the conveyer a distance to receive the heador chine A of the container. With the conveyer 10 and its stations 11 asdescribed generally above and as clearly illustrated in FIG. 1 of thedrawings it should be apparent and clear wherein the bead or chine A isa necessity for example to hold the container and to permit the upwardwithdrawal forces that are necessarily imposed in said canningmachinery.

In FIG. 2 of the drawings I have shown a cross section of the completedone-piece container fabricated as a mono-shell S, in FIG. 3 I have shownthe chine A which characterizes the one-piece container of the presentinvention. A comparison of these three figures shows that the chine Apresents a cross-sectional configuration substantially the same as orequivalent to the cross-sectional configuration of the double seam orbead at the top rim of the container.

The body B in the case illustrated is cylindrical and in practice it isextruded to have a substantially uniform Wall thickness of approximately.010 of an inch, for example. The said body B has, therefore, inner andouter diameters 20 and 21 that project upward from the end C toterminate in a plane and open end 11 normal to the longitudinal axis ofthe container. In practice, the plane end 22 is flared outwardly, asshown, for the reception of the lid 25 which is to be applied in theusual manner.

The lid 25, which forms no part of this invention, but which is to becompared with the chine A, comprises the usual double seam wherein thebody B and lid 25 each overlap the other. The said seam is constructedvertically in the direction of the body walls, the said body beingturned back while the marginal portion of the lid 25 wraps around 360and beneath the turned-back edge of the body. This seam as brieflydescribed is conventional and presents a radial enlargement commonlyreferred to as a bead or rim and which normally projects radially threetimes the thickness of the wall of the body and extends vertically aboutVs of an inch. It is significant that the usual pairs of like oridentical beads are relied upon for straight rolling of the containerfor conveying purposes, and they are relied upon to space the containersin the packaging and to prevent defacing of labels on the bodies B.

The end C is the bottom end of the one-piece container, theconfiguration of which can vary so as to withstand fluid pressureapplied from within the container. In practice, the end C isconcavo-convex, being concaved into the body B so as to withstandincreased internal pressures. Further, the marginal portion of the end Cis widened coincidently with the end plane of the container at 3-2 whereit presents a substantial area for supporting engagement of thecontainer.

In accordance with this invention, I have provided a one-piece articlewith said juncture at 32 of enlarged proportion in comparison with thebody B thereof, however, this is accomplished without encumbering thecontainer. That is, the wall of the container can remain unaltered as itcontinues out of the bottom C and into the body B, and thus there is nosignificant change in body structure. In order to establish the chine Athe juncture of the body B and bottom C is enlarged radially at 32 so asto protrude beyond the body wall 21. It is to be understood that theportion 32 can be enlarged to any desired dimension as circumstancesrequire. The flat marginal bottom 35, as it is shown, provides supportfor the container.

With the mono-shell S fabricated as hereinabove described the chine A isformed from the one-piece container intermediate the end C and body B inorder to enlarge the container at this point of joinder, to therebyafford a protruding and protecting portion for supporting engagementupon a surface, and to present a radial protrusion for cooperativeengagement in and with canning machinery and to provide spacing forconveying and packaging. The one-piece container as it is disclosedhereinabove is durable and not subject to breakage or leakage at thesharp angular juncture or point of joinder, and above all the containeris conventional in every other required respect and is suitable forhandling in the usual manner and is therefore adaptable to be handled bythe conventional and accepted highly developed machines referred toabove. Further, all seams and joints are eliminated in the body B andend C, and therebetween, by means of the method of manufacture. However,the added formation of the chine A results in an extremely practical andutilitarian article of manufacture, without which the article would bepractically useless for the purpose intended.

Having described only a typical preferred form and application of myinvention, I do not wish to be limited or restricted to the specificdetails herein set forth, but Wish to reserve to myself anymodifications or variations that may appear to those skilled in the artand fall within the scope of the following claim:

Having described my invention, I claim:

An article of manufacture comprising a seamless, cylindrical containerof circular cross section having integral side and bottom walls ofuniform thickness; and being formed by the bottom wall and a top end,the bottom wall being formed with a central concave shape as viewedexternally from the bottom end thereof to provide added strength forwithstanding internal pressures, the central concave shape beingsurrounded by a flat annular bottom surface perpendicular to thelongitudinal centerline of the container and extending outward at leastto approximately the plane of the side Wall; a top secured to the sidewall and closing off the top end of the container, the top and the sidewall forming a bead adjacent the top end of the container and extendingcompletely around the top end, the bead projecting radially outwardlyfrom the side wall for a predetermined distance relative thereto andterminating in an annular 20 flat surface parallel to the longitudinalaxis of the container; a chine formed at the juncture of the side andbottom walls, extending around the bottom end, and projecting radiallyoutwardly from the side wall the predetermined distance whereby the beadand chine have equal outer diameters, the chine also terminating in anannular flat surface parallel to the longitudinal axis of the containerso that the container may be rolled in a straight line across a flatsurface and may be held by the chine in automatic handling apparatusduring manufacturing and filling thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 360,993 4/ 1887Brown. 590,907 9/ 1897 Pendleton. 984,173 2/ 1911 Weber.

THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

J. B. MARBERT, Assistant Examiner.

